How a Loving Family Acts
by purpledragon6
Summary: A drabble series centered around the Agreste family unit and how they function: Chapter 1: When Nathalie needs some sleep, Adrien is tasked with keeping quiet until she wakes up. Now if only Plagg would do the same!
1. Nap

**A/N: First ML fanfiction.**

* * *

In Paris, there is a is a mansion bedroom. In that bedroom, there is a blonde haired boy, with a video camera and a script out in front of him. Today was supposed to be the day that he was to have a few of his friends over to begin discussion for their next student film, an activity that hes begun to really enjoy- but instead he found himself confide to silence in his bedroom. Though, it wasn't like he was stuck there against his will. No, he had willingly decided to stay home and be quiet for the next few hours. Actually, it was for a very kind-hearted reason.

"Its only for a couple of hours..." Adrien muttered, spinning around lazily in his chair.

What exactly? He still remembered the conversation (for the most part) that lead up to this.

* * *

 _Midday was the half way for most people. It was the turning point for a good or bad day, and for the most part, its where most got their energy back from a quick lunch break. Most, but not all. Especially when there was barely any energy in the person already to begin with. Adrien, since starting at a real school, was able to recognize when an all-nighter had zapped someone complete of all that they're worth, and the look on Nathalie's face was that exact one... Probably times ten._

 _"Um, Nat? Are you feeling okay?" Adrien commented politely, watching as the usually put together woman tapped rapidly at the delete button on her tablet._

 _"H-hm?" Her head jerked up suddenly, her eyes widening like a deer in headlights. "Hm?"_

 _"I asked if you were feeling okay." Adrien repeated, awkwardly watching as Nathalie's head bowed back to her tablet sheepishly._

 _"O-oh... I'm fine." She replied, pushing a strand of her red-hair back into its place and continuing to type. "Just busy... Thank you for asking, though."_

 _Adrien frowned, not exactly satisfied with her answer, but he decided not to pursue the conversation further and draw Nathalie away from her work. The topic was all but dropped from his mind when his father, for once, entered the dining room. It wasn't everyday that two of Adrien's favorite adults were in the same room with him, so the teen tended to take these few moments as they came._

 _"Father, good morning." Adrien greeted warmly, offering a smile to the older man despite knowing that it probably would go unnoticed._

 _"Adrien..." COMPLETELY unnoticed, but that much was expected._

 _What Adrien didn't quite expect was for his father to walk completely passed him and straight over to Nathalie, who currently looked down at her tablet with a look of absolute dread. Her usually pale skin had gone almost stark white, and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. All this while still being completely mindless to the other two watching her._

 _"Nathalie? Are you alrig-" Gabriel began, but was cut off rather harshly when Nathalie all but slammed her tablet onto the table with both hands._

 _"No!" She exclaimed, though it seemed as though her comment was directed towards her device and not her boss, hopefully._

 _Silence fell over the three, and surprised glances were exchanged among them all. For a few moments, Nathalie kept her head bowed low, a little too much colour returning to her face when she seemingly realized what she had done. Slowly, she looked up and innocently pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, taking a moment to compose herself before trying to speak- only to be cut off herself._

 _"Nathalie-" It was hard to tell if Gabriel was angry or concerned, or maybe both but it was likely only one of the two._

 _"O-oh... I'm sorry, Sir... I just accidentally deleted an entire file-" Nathalie hurriedly explained, removing one hand from her tablet to rub her temple slightly. "I almost had it finished, and I thought I hit save but-"_

 _"You look exhausted." Gabriel finally cut in, "When was the last time you actually slept?"_

 _"Solidly? Two days..." Nathalie admitted, rubbing her eyes a little before picking up her discarded tablet again. "But I'm fine. I just need to finish thi-"_

 _"You need to sleep." It wasn't a suggestion, it was an order._

 _"Sir, I'll sleep when I've finished this." Those plans were hopefully abandoned by the tablet suddenly being swiped from her._

 _She wasn't about to argue with her boss, and Adrien felt a little grateful for it. Mainly because not only would it keep the peace for just a little longer, but it honestly hurt Adrien to see her look so drained. Secretly, the blonde listened to a quick exchange between the adults, mostly an apology and a quick "smoothing" of what was going to happen next. With that, Nathalie muttered an apology to Adrien as well, and then quickly excused herself from the room and then promptly left thereafter._

 _"Wow, father." Adrien spoke up the moment he was sure that Nathalie was out of earshot. "That was almost kind of you..."_

 _"Don't be mistaken, Adrien." Gabriel muttered, "I can't have one of my employees working in such a state."_

 _"I wasn't." Green eyes glinted in feigned innocence, and Adrien was quick to stand._

 _Like the others, Adrien had his own agenda to attend to for the day, and seeing as how this conversation was going nowhere fast, he figured he'd better start on-_

 _"That reminds me, Adrien..." Everything came to a halt once again._

 _"Yes, father?" A groaned was suppressed, as Adrien tended to do whenever he was stopped._

 _"I have to go out for the day, but I trust that you'll be able to stay here quietly on your own until Nathalie wakes up?" Everything didn't just come to a halt, but any and all plans suddenly shattered into nothingness._

 _"B-but I was supposed to-" The look Gabriel suddenly flashed at Adrien was enough to kill a man on the spot, so Adrien quickly silenced himself. "Yes, father."_

 _"Good..." With that, the older man took his leave, leaving Adrien alone in the diningroom._

 _Adrien stood in silence for a few moments, but he quickly brushed it off and hurried off to his room to alert his friends of the change in schedule._

 _"Its just a couple of hours... And its to help Nathalie."_

* * *

"Its to help Nathalie." He repeated, though he honestly felt ready to get himself akumatized just to ask for the same time powers as Alix.

Sighing heavily, he picked up his camera and them himself and walked over to his couch and plopped himself down. In his new chair, he positioned the camera in his lap and studied it for a bit. His fingers itched to film something with it before Nino had a chance to get his hands on it- But what to film that was both exciting and quiet enough to NOT wake Nathalie?

"My bedroom is practically on top of hers..." Adrien noted, setting the camera down gingerly.

"Why not film me?" Of all the things Plagg could have chosen to be his last words- He almost chose those.

With a sharp gasp, Adrien went flailing about, loosing his seating on the couch. He would have hit the floor, if it hadn't been for his cat-like reflexes suddenly catching him on the corner of the table and keeping him just barely on the couch. Meanwhile, Plagg was laughing so hard that his tiny body shook madly.

"Plagg! That wasn't funny." Adrien loudly whispered, grabbing the creature in both hands and squeezing him just enough to know that he was serious.

"O-ow! What bit you today?" Plagg growled, slapping Adrien's hand with his tail and quickly making his escape.

"Sorry... But Nathalie is taking a nap and I don't want to wake her up." Adrien sighed, watching the pissed off Plagg take a few more swings at him.

"Napping!? I thought only kids and old people took those..." Plagg muttered, sounding unimpressed.

"Well, so do stressed out adults and lazy creatures like you." A light laugh earned Adrien another slap on the fingers. "Ow! Hey!"

"Anyway, that sounds SOOOOO boring... How long has she been sleeping for?" Only the trained eye of Chat Noir was able to detect the mischievous twinkle in Plagg's large eyes.

"About two hours already... Why?" Adrien snapped, watching as Plagg took off towards the bedroom door. "Plagg! No!"

"Two hours is plenty of time! Lets go wake her now so we can do something!" Plagg exclaimed, just about ready to open the door when Adrien blocked his path.

"No. We are NOT waking her up." The blonde seethed quietly. "She hasn't slept in two day-"

Plagg was still smirking, and suddenly ducked passed Adrien and glided through the door as if it wasn't even there at all! It took Adrien a few seconds to recover from his shock, before flinging his door open and taking off after Plagg as quietly as he could. Much to his horror, he arrived just in time to see Plagg struggling to hold up a painting- ready to drop it on the floor!

"Plagg!" He gasped, taking off down the hall and catching the painting right before it could hit the floor.

"Hey! Stop that!" Plagg growled, but suddenly gave up on the painting and take off for a very fragile looking vase.

Adrien growled, struggling to set the heavy painting gently back where it belonged, and then taking off to intercept the vase. It seemed that Plagg was aiming for the heaviest objects to make the LOUDEST commotion. This wouldn't have been a problem if Adrien could just transform into Cat Noir- But there was just problem of Plagg currently getting away, and the fact that without Plagg, there would be no point in transforming at all and run the risk of being caught by Nathalie.

"Wow! All these books look like they could make a really loud noise!" Plagg announced, somehow getting FURTHER from Adrien in the few moments it took him to set the vase back in place.

With a soft whimper, his heart sunk into him stomach. He knew exactly where Plagg was, and didn't know if he'd be able to get there in time to stop him-

"I'm going to have to try..." He muttered, suddenly booking it as quietly as he could to Nathalie's bedroom door.

Quietly, he twisted the knob and opened the door, wincing as it squeaked softly. The room was dark, with the blinds pulled shut, but he was still able to make out Nathalie's sleeping form, a book hovering directly over her head, held by Plagg, and- A book hovering directly over her HEAD!?

"Plagg!" Adrien screamed in a hushed voice. "Don't you dare!"

"Why nooooot?" Plagg argued, lowering the book slightly. "Its pretty light. It'll only hurt a little bit!"

Adrien huffed, quickly slipping into the room and tip-toeing over to a safe spot where he could grab the book if needed, but still talk to Plagg without creating too much noise.

"I'm serious! Leave her alone." With another gentle step, Adrien drew nearer to the bed.

"So what you're saying is, you want me to put the book down?" An innocent enough sounding question.

"Yes."

"As you wish, buddy!" With a quiet giggle, Plagg suddenly tossed the book into the air.

Out of instinct, Adrien left at Plagg, catching both the book and him in both hands and managing to clear the bed without disturbing Nathalie- Almost... If he were Chat Noir, he would have caught the book and Plagg and skillfully landed on the other side of the bed no problem. As Adrien- He realized a little took late that he could need his arms to help with the landing, so instead of a perfect stance, he ended up crashing directly into the side table, knocking everything off of it very loudly. His life practically flashed before his eyes, ending when his father would get home and Nathalie would rat him out and then his dad would kill him for waking her up and-

Silence.

"S-Shes still asleep?" Adrien noted in relief, scrambling to his feet and silently picking up the fallen table and setting everything back on it.

"Oh darn..." Plagg growled, but then switched to a more apologetic look suddenly. "She must really be tired..."

"Thats what I've been trying to tell you." Adrien huffed, tucking Plagg into his shirt pocket and turning to leave.

"Adrien?" It was one of few times that when Adrien wished it was Plagg talking, it wasn't.

That flash of him being killed for waking Nathalie briefly flashed before him once more, but he shook it aside and turned to his father's assistant. Her blue eyes seemed to glow in the dark, a little more lively than they had been earlier that day, much to their relief.

"H-hey, Nathalie... I was just coming to check on you." Adrien began, coughing into his hand a little. "I'm sorry if I woke you..."

"No, you didn't." Nathalie offered him a kind smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome... Are you feeling any better?" The smile grew just a little bit more at that.

"Better, so I might get back to work-"

"No!" Plagg gasped, about to pop out of Adrien's pocket to convince the woman to go back to sleep, but he was covered up by Adrien clearing his throat loudly.

"I mean- You should probably sleep a little longer. I was going to take a nap anyhow, so-" With that, Adrien began to slip back towards the door. "The house will be quiet enough."

Nathalie smiled, and laid back down. When her breathing evened out, Adrian assumed she was asleep. He quickly hurried from the room and shut the door behind him. Once he was out, he went back to his room and shut the door. When they were safe, Plagg revealed himself again.

"You weren't serious about taking a nap right?" Plagg asked.

"Yes. I'm pretty tired keeping you out of trouble." Adrien sighed, heading over to his large bed and plopping himself down.

Plagg frowned, but soon shrugged his shoulders and floated over to Adrien and curled up on top of him, deciding that this was a good idea.

"Naps are pretty nice in that case."


	2. Dance, Dance, Revolution

**... I'm not saying that its totally possible, but based on what we've seen of the Agreste family, a dance off isn't TOTALLY out of the realm of possibility at all. Even if its just Nathalie vs. Adrien when she finds a spare moment, and Gorilla who was just there and was 'convinced' to give it a try.**

* * *

"No, you have to step on the arrows as they show up!"

"Adrien, calm down- Gorilla, you keep missing them!"

The tension in Adrien's room was enough to choke even an outsider just walking it. The poor boy could barely contain himself, about to call out another 'tip' when Gorilla growled lowly waved his hand to silence him. It was the staff's first time playing **this** game with Adrien, and it was honestly hard enough to concentrate on the arrows in their single person rounds WITHOUT the teen's excitement over the score. Especially since these types of activities always came with the fear of being caught by the oldest of the Agreste males- Gabriel. Still, that didn't stop them from having their contests and game nights in secret whenever they all had a few minutes.

"You only scored 5 points?" Adrien frowned, leaning on the game bar. "Guess that means its Nathalie Vs. me next round."

"You make that sound like a bad thing." Nathalie said as she glanced at the bedroom door quickly. "We should make it a fast round though, we've been playing long enough as is-"

"Scared I'm going to beat you again?" Just a joke, they both knew, but it still sounded like a challenge.

"... One more round, and then Gorilla and I have to get back to work." With that, the assistant retied her hair into a high ponytail, something Adrien knew was a sure sign of her being ready to kick his butt. "And then you have to get back to your studies, understood?"

"Yeah, yeah." Adrien teased.

He then hopped over the two person game and took his position. Nathalie simply rolled her eyes, an action that got a smile out of Adrien for some reason, and joined him on the game mat. Now all that was left was for a song to be selected. Since it was Adrien's game and they were only playing for HIS entertainment, he got to choose the songs for every round. After a quick selection, the brightly coloured arrows began to light up the screen.

"This one is called 'Pluto Relinquish', and Nino says its the hardest song." Adrien said, eyes snapping back to the screen. "Good luck, Nat-"

The blonde was cut off as the song began, and both plays began their attempt to keep up with the rapid pacing of it. Nino definitely wasn't kidding when he said it was one of the hardest, with arrows practically flying off the screen faster than they were on it. With this song, absolute concentration was needed in order to get a below average score on this game. It would be murder to your score to look away from the screen for even a second, so both players kept their eyes as glued to the screen as they could- Which couldn't be at the worst time. The bedroom door opened in suddenly and in walked in the last person the trio wanted to see; Gabriel Agreste.

"What are you three-" Gabriel began, but stopped when he saw for himself what was happening.

In an instance, Adrien and Nathalie whipped around to face him, both frazzled and attempting to feign some innocence over the situation- Poorly. The game had been running for a few seconds after the sudden intrusion, but Adrien was quick to hit pause, so the room was silent. Game night had turned terrifying in their impromptu staring contest with the man who could make all of their lives a living hell. Granted, they WERE shirking from their responsibilities, so it wouldn't be unexpected.

"Sir-" Nathalie started first, her tone professional but also breathless from the game still.

"Nathalie." Gabriel replied, eyes shifting between her, his son, and the game monitor.

The score was tied when the game was paused. Not that it would matter much. Even if he couldn't read his father's emotions, he knew that he wasn't going to let him continue. Heck, he suspected his father would have the game removed from his room forever since it was such a distraction to them all. Adrien and the others knew the game was over now.

"Father- It was just a quick game-" Adrien spoke up, innocently about to step off of the mat when he was stopped by a wave of the other man's hand.

"And you looked like you were going to win. I'm sorry for interrupting." Well, that response certainly shocked them all.

"Y-you're not mad that we were goofing off?" Soft green eyes shifted nervously over to Nathalie for her reaction. Just in case this was all an elaborate trap.

"If you loose to Nathalie, I'll be upset." Gabriel replied, stepping forward for what Adrien assumed was to better see the game.

Nathalie's dark blue eyes and Adrien's soft green ones met at the center of the game, the challenge from earlier back. Slowly, the pair turned back to their respective sides of the screens and Adrien reached over to hit play again. They each casted one more glance over at Gabriel, looking for his approval to hit play. A quick nod from said man put them both at ease, and Adrien turned back to his screen.

"Good luck, Nathalie." Adrien smirked, striking the play button quickly. "You'll need it."

"And why do you say that, Adrien?" Nathalie asked, her voice full of suspicion.

"Because the looser has to play against father!"

"What!?" The adults gasped in unison, followed by a soft cry from Nathalie as she hurriedly attempted to keep up with Adrien again.


	3. Parent Teacher Conference

**A/N: We're back with chapter 2!**

 **Summary:** **Parents Day can be avoided, sure. But you can't avoid a Parent/Teacher meeting.**

* * *

Adrien has faced akumatized victims, personal loss, and living Plagg. He sometimes felt like he could face anyone and anything at any time and come out alive- but he was quickly finding that even he wasn't that invincible. There were higher powers that were out of his control. Things that made him feel like running away would be the better option. Or burying himself alive, that was also a better option than what he was doing right now. Sitting between his father (Or- rather a propped up tablet with his father on video call) and Nathalie in front of the school principal, wishing for an akuma to attack, Adrien felt more than powerless.

"You're not in trouble, Adrien." The Principal said.

Adrien felt a blush form on the tips of his ears. He felt that his fears were obvious, but he didn't think they were actually showing!

"If hes not in trouble, then why did I have to leave work?" His father snapped suddenly.

Despite only being on a tablet, his outburst still caused an uncomfortable tension to form around the four almost instantly. As embarrassed as Adrien was, he knew the conversation was going to continue one way or another. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much more painful than it already was.

"Sir- We had a few minutes to spare in your schedule." It was times like this that Adrien was thankful for Nathalie.

"I understand that, Nathalie-" There was a pause, but it was simply followed by silence. "Nevermind. Go on."

"Um, right..." The Principal cleared his throat awkwardly, glancing over at Adrien from a moment. "I just wanted to call you both down here to discuss Adrien's grades."

In an instant, the tension was back in the room. This time it was amplified, by two sets of eyes glancing down at Adrien simultaneously and Adrien's own eyes silently pleading to the principal to explain before the atmosphere of the room killed them all. Sometimes people just needed to get straight to the point instead of just beating around the bush. Adrien was starting to enjoy public school- he didn't need one miscommunication due to a pause for dramatic effect to ruin it all for him.

"Hes doing very well." A sigh a relief.

"I left my work for this?" Gabriel said. "I don't see why we couldn't be informed of this via email."

"You're only on a tablet, father." Adrien said, trying to be helpful, but shrinking back instantly when his father shot him an annoyed look.

"I don't believe Adrien was being facetious." Nathalie added gently.

"Regardless..." Gabriel muttered. "Let the man continue so we can get on with our lives."

With that, all eyes returned to the principal, two pairs sending silent apologizes to him. Its how things tended to go whenever they took Gabriel out in public like this. Anyone outside of the family unit tended to find his manner of speaking to be blunt and harsh, but they knew better.

"Well- Adrien is doing so well in fact, that his teachers were discussing allowing him to skip a grade-" The principal went on. "A final decision would have to be made by his parents or guardian. You can take your time in deciding-"

"Very well. We'll be going then." Gabriel cut in, his voice raising a few octaves. It was only a slight change, but it honestly surprised Adrien a little. Hes never heard his father raise his voice THAT loud. "We'll be taking Adrien with us, if thats alright."

At the sound of his name, Adrien scrambled to get to his feet and followed his father and Nathalie out of the office. Despite the good news, the boy couldn't help but feel nervous. It was only noon- hardly time to leave school. It made Adrien worry that he was leaving early because he was going to be homeschooled again, or something.

"We're very proud of you, Adrien." Nathalie said suddenly, halting in her steps so Adrien could catch up with her. Once he was at her side, he could see the look of pride on her face for him. That reassured him a little. "And you should be very proud of yourself as well."

"Thanks... I had a good tea-" Adrien was cut off by his father clearing his throat. Within an instance, all attention was back on the tablet.

"You don't speak for me, Nathalie." Gabriel huffed suddenly, disregarding Adrien's comment before he could even make it. "But yes, we are proud of you."

"S-so, why am I leaving?" Adrien stuttered, scooting ahead so he could see both his father and Nathalie.

"I'm going to let Nathalie treat you for your accomplishments." Gabriel said stiffly. "You both have the afternoon off, but I expect you both back at your usual times."

"Yes, sir." Both said, the call ending abruptly after.

"So, what would you like to do, Adrien?" Nathalie asked.

Now that the two were alone, they were free to do what they wished. It was one of the few times Adrien truly felt like he had his freedom. He didn't need to run away, or be Chat Noir to get it. For once, he had earned it, and was going to enjoy it to the full extent that he could.

* * *

The afternoon had started with lunch, and ended with Nathalie and Adrien taking full advantage of Gabriel's vague instructions on how to celebrate. The pair had spent their afternoon on the town, and Adrien eventually convinced Nathalie to get a full face paint with him. Adrien had gotten a cat drawn on his face, and Nathalie had a peacock done. This earned them a few strange looks from others on the street, but it was fun, regardless.


End file.
